Learning Center : Eye Anatomy

At EyeScience we believe that education is at the heart of understanding how to protect and support your eye health. We have created this 3D model of the eye so that you can learn more about how the eye works and the parts that allow you to see clearly.

To better understand why eyes may become dry, it is important to understand basic eye anatomy. Think of the eye as a camera and you’ll begin to understand how we see. The human eye is more complex than a traditional camera, but the principles are similar. Place your cursor on the eye’s parts below to see how they function.

Each part plays a vital role in providing clear vision. So think of the eye as a camera with the cornea, behaving much like a lens cover. As the eye’s main focusing element, the cornea takes widely diverging rays of light and bends them through the pupil, the dark, round opening in the center of the colored iris. The iris and pupil act like the aperture of a camera. The very back of the eye is lined with a layer called the retina which acts very much like the film of the camera. The retina is a membrane containing photoreceptor nerve cells that lines the inside back wall of the eye. The center 10% of the retina is called the macula. This is responsible for your sharp vision, your reading vision. As with the camera, you need good film to get a good picture.

The human eye is remarkable. It accommodates to changing lighting conditions and focuses light rays originating from various distances from the eye. When all of the components of the eye function properly, light is converted to impulses and conveyed to the brain where an image is perceived.